cfl 


THOUGHTS    ABOUT    WATER 


BOSTON  wants  more  water,  and  must  have  it.  "  The  time 
has  arrived,"  says  our  worthy  mayor.  Such  precisely  lias 
been  the  language  of  all  our  worthy  mayors,  from  mayor 
Quincy  to  the  present.  It  is  not  my  desire  to  hasten  the 
measures  of  our  city  government,  but  to  induce  them  to  make 
haste  slowly.  Frequent  disappointments  are  apt  to  drive  men 
to  some  rash  conclusion  at  last. 

Not  a  few,  who  are  called  to  act,  on  the  present  occasion, 
have  forgotten  how  thoroughly  this  question  was  vexed,  in 
1837—8.  Facts  and  reasonings  were  then  presented,  which 
are  not,  like  news  on  the  stock  exchange,  good  only  while  they 
are  new;  but  which  are  quite  as  worthy  of  attention  now  as 
then. 

It  was  ordered,  in  Common  Council,  on  the  22d  of  this 
month,  that  commissioners  should  be  appointed,  and  their 
compensation  fixed.  In  my  poor  judgment,  a  careful  perusal 
of  all,  that  has  been  written  and  reported  so  elaborately  alreadv, 
would  have  been  more  profitable  than  the  measure  proposed. 
The  expenditure  of  the  city,  on  account  of  the  introduction  of 
pure  water,  amounted,  April  16,  1838,  to  the  sum  of  eighteen 
thousand,  four  hundred  and  ninety-nine  dollars,  and  now  ex- 
ceeds twenty-two  thousand. 

The  question,  in  1838,  was,  whether  the  water  should  be 
introduced  by  the  city,  or  by  private  companies.  It  was  ad- 
mitted then,  and  is  admitted  now,  on  all  hands,  that  we  want 
more  water.  But  the  zeal  of  the  water  party  led  them  to  cer- 
tain absurd  averments,  respecting  the  well  and  cistern  water  of 
Boston.  It  was  poisonous,  the  whole  way  from  Winnisimmet 
Ferry  to  the  fortification  gates;  and  some  of  our  citizens  were 
encouraged  to  believe  that  brandy  was  the  safer  beverage, 
after  all. 

The  following  observations  were  published  in  1838,  as  ap- 
plicable to  the  project  of  that  time;  and  their  perusal  may  not 
be  entirely  unprofitable  at  the  present  day. 


With  one  aqueduct  in  successful  operation  already,  which, 
though  it  supplies  water  of  the  purest  quality,  scarcely  finds 
one  customer  in  every  four  dwellings  which  it  passes,  and  with 
several  millions  of  dollars  invested  by  our  citizens  in  wells  and 
cisterns, — is  it  not  manifestly  the  wiser  course  for  Boston  to 
adopt  the  London  plan,  rather  than  that  of  Philadelphia,  where 
the  hydrant  was  almost  coeval  with  the  foundation  of  the  city? 
Is  it  not  also  the  juster  course,  in  relation  to  those,  who,  having 
supplied  themselves  at  their  own  cost,  cannot  equitably  be 
charged  with  the  burthen  of  supplying  their  neighbors?  Lon- 
don is  supplied  by  eight  private  companies.  Boston  has  one. 
Let  us  have  another  and  another,  as  our  occasions  require. 
Then  every  citizen,  who  wants  the  water,  can  have  it,  on  fair 
terms, — that  is,  if  he  will  pay  for  it;  and  not  by  throwing  a  tax 
upon  his  fellow-man,  who  wants  it  not.  We  want  enough  for 
our  present  need,  not  a  deluge,  at  a  preposterous  expense, 
that  every  lady  may  have  a  fountain,  and  every  gentleman  a 
hose  and  squirter.  The  waters  of  Spot  Pond,  Long  Pond,  and 
the  Middlesex  Canal,  are  before  the  public,  for  consideration. 
The  quality  of  the  water  is  of  not  less  importance  than  the 
quantity.  If  the  source  be  filthy,  the  less  of  it  the  better.  The 
last  of  these  three  sources  seems  not  to  find  much  favor  with 
the  public.  Mr.  Baldwin,  one  of  the  commissioners,  speaks 
thus  of  it,  in  his  report:  "  I  object  to  the  color  and  character 
of  the  water  which  composes  this  source.  Much  of  the  water 
is  derived  from  the  Middlesex  Canal,  from  the  leaks  and  wastes 
on  a  large  portion  of  its  length.  This  canal  is  fed  from  Con- 
cord River,  in  Billerica,  a  large  portion  of  whose  waters  lie, 
every  year,  nearly  motionless,  through  the  dog-days,  steeping 
the  grass  on  the  Sudbury  meadows,  for  many  miles  in  extent." 

Of  the  two  remaining  sources,  Spot  Pond  is  decidedly  prefer- 
able, for  our  present  occasion.  It  is  higher — it  is  nearer — it 
is  purer — probably,  with  the  exception  of  Jamaica  Pond,  the 
purest  that  can  be  had.  It  is  vastly  less  expensive,  and  suffi- 
cient for  the  city  of  Boston,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Boston 
aqueduct,  and  our  domestic  resources  in  wells  and  cisterns, 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  at  least.  It  is  well,  doubtless,  to 
plant  for  posterity,  but  not  too  extensively. 

Aug.  31,  1844. 


WATER. 


MUCH  has  been  written  upon  the  subject  of  introducing 
"  a  copious  supply  of  pure  and  soft  water  "  into  the  city  of 
Boston.  Some  of  the  friends  and  stockholders  of  the  Boston 
Aqueduct  Company  have  stated  that  there  are  individuals, 
among  those,  who  favor  the  $1,500,000  project,  that  want 
a  job ;  that  the  water  question  is  one,  upon  which  Municipal 
elections  are  already  made  to  depend  ;  that  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  electioneering  ;  and  that  the  excitement  of  popular 
meetings  in  Faneuil  Hall  is  not  favorable  to  a  correct  decis- 
ion of  this  very  important  question,  which  is  to  be  settled  by 
grave  calculation,  and  not  by  loud  voices,  vehement  gestures, 
or  flourishes  of  rhetoric.  Now  all  this  may  be  very  true, 
and  most  probably  it  is. 

Others  aver,  that  the  Aqueduct  Corporation  has  an  obvi- 
ous jinterest  in  opposing  the  introduction  of  water  by  the 
citjf  because,  if  it  should  be  made  free,  their  franchise  would 
be  about  as  valuable  as  that  of  Charlestown  Bridge.  In  re- 
sisting the  introduction  of  water  by  the  city,  it  is  therefore 
said  that  the  stockholders  of  this  company  are  selfish.  There 
can  be  very  little  doubt,  I  think,  upon  this  point.  They  are 
selfish,  most  probably,  to  a  man  :  but  I  am  afraid  this  term 
of  reproach  is  of  almost  universal  application.  If  a  public 
officer  stands  pledged  to  any  particular  measure,  his  feelings 
soon  become  interested  in  its  accomplishment,  and  he  may 
be  as  selfish,  for  the  gratification  of  his  pride,  as  another  for 
the  maintenance  of  his  possessions.  If  members  of  either 
board  of  the  city  government  are  pledged  directly  or  indi- 
rectly to  support  a  chief  officer  in  a  particular  course,  in  a 
very  little  time  they  also  become  equally  selfish.  If  I  have 
a  fine  house  upon  some  high  ground,  and  my  water  is  not 
quite  so  good  or  abundant  as  I  could  wish,  I  should  be  very 
likely  to  vote  for  the  introduction  of  water  ;  yet  I  should  be 
selfish  in  this,  no  doubt,  and  perhaps  rather  unwarrantably 
selfish,  if  I  were,  at  the  same  moment,  an  uncommonly  busy 
and  zealous  advocate  of  this  measure  in  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men, or  Common  Council. 

I  have  no  belief,  that  the  true  question,  now  before  the 


people,  can,  upon  any  principle  of  common  sense,  ever  be 
settled  in  town  meetings  or  ward  meetings,  unless  a  vote 
from  every  citizen,  that  he  ivishcs  the  water  to  be  brought  in 
at  the  expense  of  the  city,  may  be  rationally  construed  to 
mean,  that  he  will  take  and  pay  for  that  water.  If  it  be 
the  real  object  to  ascertain  this  very  important  fact,  why 
may  it  not  be  the  better  course  to  apply  to  the  citizens — not 
to  sign  a  petition  for  a  town  meeting — but  to  subscribe  for 
the  water1}  Perhaps  a  more  judicious  course  would  be  to 
deposit  a  book  for  this  purpose,  in  some  convenient  place, 
and  notify  all  persons,  so  disposed,  to  record  therein  their 
promises  to  take  and  pay  for  the  water. 

I  assume  it  to  be  true,  that  a  more  copious  supply  of 
water  would  be  a  great  comfort  to  some  of  our  citizens.  It 
is  equally  true,  that  a  very  large  number  do  not  want  it,  and 
have  protested  against  the  project,  as  appears  by  the  remon- 
strances upon  the  table  of  the  Common  Council.  They  say 
they  are  satisfied  entirely  with  their  own  wells,  cisterns,  and 
the  existing  aqueduct.  This,  however,  is  not  likely  to  satisfy 
such  persons  as  are  actually  suffering  for  the  want  of  pure 
and  soft  water.  It  is  most  natural — for  as  I  said  before,  we 
are  all  selfish — that  the  suffering  party  should  press  fcheir 
individual  troubles  before  the  public,  and  even  endeavor'  to 
persuade  the  community  to  afford  them  relief.  But  it  was 
not  quite  fair,  the  real  origin  of  the  medical  petition  being 
duly  considered,  to  bring  down  the  whole  faculty  upon  us  to 
frighten  us  to  death.  Nor  was  the  famous  inspection  of 
wells,  considering  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted,  the 
most  praiseworthy  part  of  the  machinery.  The  person  em- 
ployed to  make  this  examination,  went  forth  with  a  bias. 
He  perfectly  comprehended  the  design  of  his  appointment, 
and  the  result  was  such  as  might  have  been  expected.  If 
he  had  supposed  that  his  report  would  have  been  as  accept- 
able, in  the  form  of  a  careful  record  of  all  the  good  wells  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  he  would  certainly  have  found  many 
more  of  them.  I  am  not  writing  in  the  dark.  I  have  abun- 
dant proof  of  the  manner,  in  which  that  investigation  was  con- 
ducted,and  of  the  leading  questions, put  by  the  person  employed. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  agreed,  that  pure  and  soft  water  is 
wanted.  I  speak  not  of  the  imaginary  wants  of  those  gen- 
tlemen, who  desire  the  water  works  in  every  one  of  their 
apartments,  high  and  low,  which  works,  by  the  way,  in  our 
climate,  can  be  used  only  for  a  few  months  in  the  year — nor 
of  the  imaginary  wants  of  those  who  covet  the  luxury  of 


fountains  in  their  yards  and  gardens — but  of  the  actual  wants 
of  such  as  require  the  water  for  the  common  purposes  of  life, 
for  culinary  uses,  for  washing,  bathing,  drinking,  &c.  I  by 
no  means  assume  it  to  be  true,  that  the  great  noise  made 
about  water,  is  to  be  taken  as  any  thing  like  a  sure  standard 
of  the  existing  necessity.  For  example,  in  a  certain  street 
in  this  city,  a  goodly  number  of  occupants  happen  to  be 
the  tenants  of  sundry  houses  belonging  to  one  man.  These 
tenants  are  migratory  and  irresponsible  persons.  They  often 
apply,  as  the  superintendent  tells  me,  for  the  water  of  the 
Boston  Aqueduct,  which  passes  through  the  street  referred 
to.  The  superintendent  replies — "  you  are  here  to-day  and 
gone  to-morrow ;  I  cannot  trust  you  ;  but  you  shall  have  the 
water  if  your  landlord,  Mr.  A.  B.  will  become  responsible, 
which  he  refuses  !  "  Now  there  is  no  person  more  clamorous 
than  Mr.  A.  B.  for  what  ? — Not  for  pure  water,  but  for  pure 
water  at  the  expense  of  the  city ;  a  phrase,  which  is  mis- 
leading thousands  into  the  belief,  that  they  are  to  have  the 
water  from  the  very  moment  of  its  introduction,  for  nothing, 
and  who  are  therefore  easily  induced  to  vote  for  the  project. 

How  shall  all  reasonable  demands  for  water  be  satisfied  ? 
Not  Purely  in  the  superlatively  foolish  and  intemperate  spirit, 
which  has  dictated  the  paragraphs  of  certain  writers,  "  we 
ivill  have  it !  "  The  idea  of  coercing  entire  boards  of  coun- 
cil to  act  contrarily  to  their  consciences,  by  the  force  of  an  in- 
structing ;po\ver,  presumed  to  reside  in  an  excited  and  multi- 
tudinous body,  is  the  very  maximum  of  Jacobinical  absurdity. 

How  shall  the  reasonable  demand  for  water  in  this  city  be 
supplied  ?  Is  it  just  and  right  that  water  should  be  supplied 
at  the  expense  of  the  city  1  If  we  were  now  assembling 
upon  this  peninsula  for  the  first  time,  and  proposing  to  build 
a  city,  the  suggestion  would  come  with  a  better  grace. 
Could  we  calculate  even  now,  with  any  reasonable  degree  of 
certainty,  that  a  sufficient  number  of  customers  would  take 
and  pay  for  the  water,  to  meet  the  amount  of  interest  on 
cost,  and  the  expense  of  superintendent,  treasurer,  clerk  and 
subaltern  operatives,  there  would  be  nothing  so  very  enor- 
mous in  the  proposal.  But  how  can  we  arrive  at  this  rea- 
sonable degree  of  certainty  1  By  calling  on  the  citizens  to 
vote  in  wards,  in  favor  of  bringing  in  soft  water  at  the 
expense  oj  the  city  1 

Let  us  translate  these  words — at  the  expense  of  the  city — 
into  English.  Do  they  mean,  that  the  city  shall  pay  the 
cost  of  the  works,  and  the  citizens  shall  pay  the  interest 


6 

thereon  in  the  form  of  a  water  tax  ?  Did  the  voters  in  the 
affirmative,  on  Monday  last,  so  understand  these  words  ?  Did 
the  owner  of  some  "  twenty  houses  without  wells  "  who 
pledged  himself  to  bring  his  tenants  to  the  polls  to  vote 
for  the  measure,  so  understand  these  words?  Did  his 
tenants  themselves  so  understand  these  words  ?  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  they  did — that  they  are  willing  to  pay — that  they 
are  able  to  pay.  Let  us  be  exceedingly  liberal  in  our  sup- 
positions— let  us  suppose  that  every  voter,  on  Monday  last, 
in  favor  of  the  measure,  was  the  head  of  a  family,  and  would 
be  a  customer  to  the  proposed  aqueduct,  which  must,  how- 
ever, be  very  far  from  the  truth.  What  then  ?  Twenty-Jive 
hundred  customers  would  scarcely  pay  the  interest  on  the  out- 
lay, even  if  that  outlay  should  not  exceed  $1,500,000, 
unless  each  paid  an  uncomfortable  price  for  the  water,  as 
any  one's  arithmetic  will  show. 

These  words,  at  the  expense  of  the  city,  are  not  thus  to  be 
translated.  Deduct  from  the  2500  voters,  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  those,  who  are  not  heads  of  families,  servants,  who 
have  voted  to  please  their  masters,  journeymen  mechanics, 
who  have  voted  to  please  their  employers,  and  a  portion  of 
the  mass  who  look  for  employment  in  some  one  or  fcther 
department,  should  the  project  go  forward, — and  how  rfllny 
will  remain  to  pay  for  this  soft  water,  which  will  prove  the 
hardest  water,  that  was  ever  brought  into  this  or  any  other 
city,  in  a  pecuniary  sense  ? 

But  we  are  not  at  all  in  the  condition  supposed,  in  the  first 
paragraph  of  this  communication.  We  are  not  commencing 
a  city  de  novo.  We  have,  as  individuals,  expended  an  im- 
mense amount  of  money  already,  for  our  wells  and  cisterns. 
We  haye  also  an  aqueduct,  whose  capabilities  it  is  for  the 
interest  of  the  water  party  to  depreciate,  and  which  supplies 
nearly  1500  families,  and,  as  Mr.  Baldwin  states  in  his  re- 
port, can  supply  very  many  more)  with  the  purest  water. 
Under  this  condition  of  things,  is  it  a  righteous  application  of 
the  golden  rule,  to  compel  a  very  large  number  of  our  citizens, 
who  solemnly  aver  that  they  do  not  want  this  water,  and  that 
they  have  provided  themselves  already,  at  their  own  cost  and 
charge,  with  good  and  sufficient  wells  and  cisterns, — to  com- 
pel them  to  pay  for  this  project,  that  other  men  may  have 
water  at  their  expense  ?  The  analogy  attempted  to  be  sus- 
tained between  the  condition  of  Philadelphia  and  Boston, 
cannot  be  supported  upon  any  principle.  The  aqueduct 
there  was  not  offered  to  a  city,  provided,  in  a  good  degree, 


already,  with  wells  and  cisterns,  and  having  an  aqueduct  in 
operation  at  the  time,  supplying  fifteen  hundred  families, 
and  prevented  from  essentially  increasing  its  supply,  only  by  a 
perpetual  fear  of  being  ruined  by  the  city  itself.  The  expect- 
ation of  gathering  12,000  customers  here,  with  our  population, 
because,after  so  very  many  years,the  Philadelphians  have  gath- 
ered 13,000  customers  with  their  population,  is  hardly  worthy 
the  reputation  of  three  well  grown  and  well  paid  commissioners. 

How  shall  the  reasonable  demand  for  pure  water  in  the 
city  be  satisfied  ?  What  is  the  actual  extent  of  that  reason- 
able demand  ?  The  South  Cove,  Mill  Pond,  and  Railroad 
Corporations  demand  this  water,  to  enable  them  to  augment 
the  profit  of  their  several  speculations.  Those  inhabitants 
whose  well  water  is  bad  in  quality  or  insufficient  in  quantity, 
demand  this  water.  Those,  who,  not  content  with  the 
amount  commonly  consumed,  insist  on  a  copious  supply, 
twenty-seven  and  one-half  gallons,  at  least,  per  diem,  for  every 
inhabitant,  not  excepting  even  those  who  solemnly  declare  that 
they  have  an  abundance  already,  demand  this  water.  Which 
of  these  demands  are  reasonable,  and  which  are  unreasonable! 

We  steadily  deny  that  any  demand  for  this  water  is  a 
reasonable  demand,  unless  the  demandant  will  pledge  himself 
to  pay  the  water  rent,  whatever  that  may  be.  Of  the  2500 
who  voted  for  water,  we  do  not  believe  that  1250  are  ready 
to  pledge  themselves.  Let  us,  however,  assume  it  to  be  true, 
that  every  one  of  these  2500  voters  will  pledge  himself  ac- 
cordingly. Let  us  also  assume  it  to  be  true,  and  assuredly 
we  may,  that  those  1600  individuals  who  voted  against  this 
water,  have  enough,  and  good  enough,  already.  Let  us 
suppose  that  the  actual  condition  of  public  sentiment  is  truly 
represented  by  this  vote.  Here,  then,  is  a  surplus  of  44,000 
gallons,  per  diem,  being  the  proportion  of  27  1-2  each,  to 
1600  citizens,  which  these  1600  citizens  do  not  want,  and 
will  not  receive.  Add  this  amount  of  44,000  gallons  to 
68,750  gallons,  the  proportion,  at  27  1-2  gallons  each,  per 
diem,  to  2500  customers,  and  we  have  an  aggregate  of 
112,750  gallons  of  water.  Which,  if  used  at  all,  must  be 
used  by  these  2500  customers;  since  the  other  1600  will 
have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Now,  in  this  ratio,  every  old  lady 
and  every  nursing  baby  in  the  city  will  have  the  luxury  of  45 
1-10  gallons  per  diem, — a  copious  supply,  beyond  all  doubt. 

But  we  affirm,  that,  as  16  is  to  25,  so  is  not  the  proportion 
of  those,  who  do  not  want  the  water,  to  those,  who  will  take 
it  and  pay  for  it.  As  a  stimulus  to  the  water  party,  the 


8 

editor  of  the  Daily  Advertiser,  on  the  morning  of  the  ward 
meeting,  published  an  editorial  proclamation  of  considerable 
length,  in  which  he  observes,  "if  they  do  not  vote  for  it,  on 
such  an  appeal  as  this,  the  inference  will  be  a  fair  one  that 
the  water  is  not  wanted"  Is  then  the  casting  of  2500  votes 
in  favor  of  this  measure,  "  after  such  an  appeal  as  this,"  and 
of  which  2500  votes,  as  we  have  already  stated  our  firm 
belief,  not  1250  were  cast  by  men,  who  would  agree  to  pay 
for  the  water, — is  the  casting  of  these  2500  votes,  after 
such  electioneering  and  caucussing,  to  settle  this  question  for 
80,000  inhabitants  ?  Where  were  those  12,500  customers, 
who  were  so  eager  for  this  water?  The  gentleman  who 
decided  for  the  Common  Council,  that  they  would  assume 
the  responsibility  of  this  costly  undertaking,  with  a  majority 
of  one  only,  will,  perhaps,  consider  it  perfectly  justifiable  that 
2500  voters  should  bind  this  burthen  upon  the  shoulders  of 
1600  others,  and  upon  the  whole  population,  and  compel 
them  to  bear  it,  when  the  whole  advantage  is  to  be  reaped 
by  this  small  compelling  party.  If  this  be  a  sample  of  equity  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  we  have  no  accurate  conception  of  gross 
injustice  under  a  despotic  government. 

We  have  endeavored  to  exhibit  several  reasons  why  the 
existing  demand  for  water  should  not  be  satisfied  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  city.  We  have  a  few  words  more  to  say  upon 
this  point.  The  editor  of  the  Daily  Advertiser  observes,  in 
his  paper  of  April  2, — "  There  is  a  peculiar  propriety  in  re- 
ferring a  question  oj  this  sort  to  the  suffrages  of  the  citizens" 
We  are  utterly  at  a  loss  to  discover  wherein  this  peculiar 
propriety  consists.  To  our  apprehension  the  very  reverse  of 
Mr.  Hale's  opinion  appears  to  be  the  truth.  It  seems  to  be 
a  question,  in  its  original  state,  which  might  with  singular 
propriety  have  been  referred  to  the  calm,  unbiased  decision 
of  Boards  of  Councils :  in  its  present  state,  and  when  highly 
improper  means  have  been  employed  to  inflame  the  public 
mind,  it  is  not  easy  to  perceive  the  singular  propriety  of 
referring  this  question  to  the  suffrages  of  the  citizens. 

A  very  considerable  number  of  those  opposed  to  this  water 
project,  are  non-residents ;  yet  by  them  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  the  city  taxes  is  paid.  They  have  a  deep  interest  at 
stake,  yet  they  have  no  voice  in  this  matter  at  the  polls.  In 
1836,  nearly  $18,000  of  the  year's  tax  were  levied  upon 
the  real  estate  owned  and  represented  by  females.  A  much 
larger  amount  was  levied  upon  the  real  estate  of  non-residents, 


9 

and  various  corporations.  A  large  amount  of  the  public  tax 
must  always  fall  upon  executors,  trustees  and  guardians,  who, 
though  some  of  them  may  vote,  in  regard  to  their  own  res- 
pective interests,  can  exercise  no  right  of  suffrage  on  behalf 
of  those  minors  and  other  persons,  the  taxes  upon  whose 
property  they  are  bound  to  pay. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  petitions  and  remonstrances,  pub- 
lished by  the  City  Council,  in  Document  No.  9,  of  the 
papers  relating  to  the  introduction  of  pure  water.  They  are 
eight  in  number,  four  in  favor  of  the  project,  and  four  against  it. 

The  reckless  facility,  with  which  men  lend  their  names 
upon  occasions  of  this  nature,  where  there  is  no  obligation  to 
pay  money,  is  proverbial.  It  will  not  be  an  easy  matter  to 
furnish  an  illustration  of  this  truth,  more  remarkable  than  that, 
which  we  are  about  to  exhibit. 

In  the  year  1837,  a  pamphlet  was  published,  by  order  of 
the  Common  Council,  entitled,  "List  of  Persons,  Co-part- 
nerships, and  Corporations,  who  were  taxed  twenty-Jive 
dollars  and  upwards,  in  the  City  of  Boston,  in  the  year 
1836."  To  this  pamphlet  we  shall  refer,  as  the  tax-book. 
It  is  just  to  remark,  that  the  remonstrances  were  gotten  up 
in  some  haste,  and  after  it  was  discovered  that  petitions  in 
favor  of  the  project  were  already  in  circulation.  The  first 
petition  commences  with  the  name  of  Joseph  Tilden.  This 
is  not  the  present  Actuary  of  the  M.  H.  L.  Insurance  Com- 
pany, as  some  persons  have  supposed.  That  gentleman  is 
opposed  to  the  water  project,  and  voted  against  it  at  the 
polls.  Joseph  Tilden,  whose  name  is  at  the  head  of  this 
first  petition,  was  taxed,  in  1836,  on  real  estate,  $13  30. 
Upon  this  petition,  the  whole  number  of  names  is  222. 
Upon  the  tax-book,  published  by  the  Council,  no  more 
than  28  can  be  found  of  these  222  who  are  taxed  for  any 
real  estate.  In  addition  to  the  28,  a  small  personal  tax  is 
set  against  the  names  of  seven  others.  The  names  of  187 
of  these  222  do  not  appear  in  the  tax-book.  The  spirit,  in 
which  this  project  has  been  urged  forward,  may  be  gathered, 
in  some  degree,  from  the  style,  in  which  several  of  these  222 
petitioners  have  presented  their  wishes :  take  one  or  two  ex- 
amples— "  L.  Stimson,jun.  goes  the  death  for  Long  Pond." 
— "  W.  C.  Gary  goes  the  death  for  Long  Pond."  The 
whole  amount  set  against  the  names  of  those  28,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  tax-book,  are  taxed  on  real  estate,  is  $  1 830  45. 
One  single  inhabitant  appears  by  the  tax-book,  to  have  been 
taxed,  in  the  same  year,  for  real  and  personal  estate,  $2132  95, 
2 


10 

more  than  these  222  petitioners,  and  on  his  real  estate  alone 
$565  45  more  than  their  whole  body. 

The  second  petition  commences  with  the  name  of  Ichabod 
Macomber.  This  petition  has  243  signatures.  Of  this 
number  179  do  not  appear  on  the  tax-book,  as  having  been 
taxed,  for  any  real  estate,  in  1836.  Seventeen  of  these  179 
appear  to  have  paid  a  small  personal  tax.  The  remaining 
162  cannot  be  found  upon  the  tax-booh.  Of  the  whole  243, 
64  pay  $5034  75  on  real  estate,  being  $782  40  less  than 
the  amount  of  taxes  on  real  estate,  set  against  the  names  of 
four  citizens  of  Boston  in  1836.  On  this  petition  are  the  names 
of  some,  who  have  subscribed  other  petitions.  We  notice 
on  this  petition,  the  name  of  Jeremiah  Fitch.  The  name  of 
the  same  individual  may  be  found  on  one  of  the  remonstrances. 

The  third  petition  commences  with  the  name  of  William 
Appleton.  Upon  this  petition,  after  the  very  third  name, 
there  is  a  sad  falling  into  nought.  The  conclusion  of  this 
petition  is  truly  amusing — "LET  THE  THING  BE  DONE,"  in 
capital  letters,  certainly  bears  the  appearance  of  a  fiat.  This 
petition  has  one  hundred  and  forty-one  signatures.  One 
hundred  and  nine  appear  not  on  the  tax-book  as  taxed  in 
1836,  for  any  real  estate.  Two  of  these  one  hundred  and 
nine  were  taxed  a  low  personal  tax.  The  remaining  one 
hundred  and  seven  are  not  named  on  the  tax-book.  Of  the  one 
hundred  and  forty-one,32  were  taxed  $4,316  50  on  real  estate. 

The  fourth  petition  commences  with  the  name  of  I.  F.  Cur- 
tis. It  numbers  one  hundred  and  eighteen  signatures.  Of  this 
number,  one  hundred  and  four  do  not  appear  in  the  tax-book, 
as  taxed  for  either  real  or  personal  estate,  in  1836.  Of  the 
whole  number,  one  hundred  and  eighteen,  fourteen  appear 
on  the  tax-book,  as  taxed  for  real  estate,  $933  85. 

The  whole  amount  taxed  on  real  estate  to  all  the  petition- 
ers, upon  these  four  petitions,  in  1836,  was  $10,468  55, 
from  which  we  deduct  the  tax  on  real  estate  set  down  to 
Mr.  Otis,  now  a  remonstrant,  though  one  of  the  petitioners, 
and  the  amount  remaining  will  be  $9,045  40. 

The  first  remonstrance  is  from  David  Ellis  and  163  others. 
Of  the  whole  number,  sixty-two  do  not  appear  upon  the  tax- 
book  for  1836.  The  amount  of  taxes  on  real  estate  in  1836, 
set  against  the  names  of  one  hundred  and  one,  is  $17,360  18. 

The  second  remonstrance  is  from  Daniel  Dickenson  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  others.  Of  these,  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  do  not  appear  upon  the  tax-book.  Twenty-one 
were  taxed  on  real  estate  in  1836,  $1,482  55. 


11 

The  third  remonstrance  is  from  James  B.  Richardson  and 
fifty -five  others.  Of  these,  thirty-six  do  not  appear  upon  the  tax 
book.  Nineteen  were  taxed  on  real  estate,  in  1836,  $  1413  45. 

The  fourth  remonstrance  is  from  Noah  Lincoln  and  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two  others.  Of  these,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  do  not  appear  upon  the  tax-book.  Forty  were 
taxed  on  real  estate,  in  1836,  $4,447  95. 

The  taxes  on  real  estate  set  against  the  names  of  these 
five  hundred  and  eighteen  remonstrants  in  the  tax-book,  for 
1836,  amount  to  the  sum  of  $24,704  13.  Add  the  tax  on 
real  estate,  for  that  year,  set  against  the  name  of  the  Hon. 
H.  G.  Otis,  $1,422  15,  and  the  total  amount  is  $26,126  28. 
The  taxes  on  real  estate  set  against  the  names  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-three  petitioners,  in  the  tax-book,  for 
1836,  amount  to  the  sum  of  $9,045  40. 

It  has  been  boldly  and  frequently  asserted,  that  the  whole 
opposition  to  this  water  project  was  made  by  a  few  "  rich 
capitalists;"  yet  of  these  five  hundred  and  eighteen  remon- 
strants, three  hundred  and  thirty-four,  so  far  from  being  rich 
capitalists,  do  not  even  appear  upon  the  tax-book  for  1836, 
containing  the  names  of  all  persons  taxed  $25  and  upwards. 
The  truth  is  this : — These  remonstrants  have  supplied  them- 
selves With  water  at  their  own  charge,  and  are  unwilling  to  bear 
the  cost  of  supplying  it  to  others.  They  are  entirely  opposed 
to  the  application  of  Agrarian  principles  in  this  city,  and  they 
believe  there  is  less  to  be  apprehended  from  a  direct,  brazen- 
faced demand  for  a  community  of  all  property  ,than  from  a  subtle 
and  insidious  application  of  the  very  same  principles,  where- 
by, under  the  guise  of  suffrage  at  the  polls,  one  citizen  may 
vote  himself  soft  bread  or  soft  water,  at  the  expense  of  another. 

Can  it  be  true  that  the  water  project  will  cost  no  more 
than  $1,500,000?  Have  not  the  commissioners  greatly 
underrated  the  damages?  It  seems  the  Standing  Committee 
think  they  have.  Are  there  not  some  who  silently  hope  that 
the  project  will  be  undertaken,  intending  to  sell  their  rights 
and  privileges  as  dearly  as  possible?  Such  is  believed  to  be 
the  fact.  Suppose  the  cost  to  be  accurately  stated ;  can 
12,500  customers  be  found  at  $6  per  head,  or  6,250  at  $12 
per  head,  to  meet  the  interest  at  5  per  cent  on  the  cost  ? 
The  Boston  Aqueduct  is  said  to  have  been  forty  years  in 
operation,  and  has  not  obtained  1500  customers.  Its  main 
is  said  to  pass  the  dwellings  of  5,800  families,  of  which  4,350 
do  not  apply  for  the  water.  This  important  fact,  while  it 
goes  to  prove  any  thing  rather  than  such  an  almost  universal 


12 

necessity  for  water,  as  has  been  declared  to  exist,  certainly 
does  not  strengthen  the  prophecy  of  the  water  commissioners, 
that  12,500  customers  can  be  gathered  to  pay  for  it.  If  this 
project  should  be  accomplished,  will  the  wells  and  cisterns  in 
this  city  be  abandoned,  as  it  were,  by  common  consent? 
Certainly  not,  unless  the  water  shall  be  made  free,  nor  even 
then ;  for  there  are  many,  who  will  not  drink  the  aqueduct 
water  when  offered  them  for  nothing.  Will  the  Boston 
Aqueduct  suspend  its  operations,  should  this  new  project  be 
accomplished  ?  Certainly  not.  So  long  as  any  price  shall 
be  demanded  by  the  city,  so  long  that  corporation  will  con- 
tinue to  offer  a  purer  water  than  the  city  can  produce  from 
either  of  its  contemplated  sources,  at  the  very  same  price. 
The  customers  of  the  Boston  Aqueduct,  and  those  citizens, 
who  are  already  sufficiently  provided  with  wells  and  cisterns, 
form  an  aggregate  that  must  manifestly  diminish  the  number 
of  those,  upon  whom  the  commissioners  appear  to  have  relied 
for  the  payment  of  the  water  tax.  To  us  it  seems  extraordi- 
nary that  three  intelligent  individuals  should  have  entirely 
overlooked  such  considerations  as  these. 

The  interest  on  cost  is  not  the  only  thing  to  be  provided 
for.  This  magnificent  project,  beheld  only  as  yet  in  the 
distance,  has  already  cost  the  city  of  Boston  the  sum  of 
$18,499,83.  This  grand  aqueduct  will  not  be  able  to  man- 
age itself.  It  must  have  its  superintendent,  its  treasurer,  its 
collectors,  its  clerks,  and  sundry  subaltern  operatives,  and 
they  must  be  paid.  We  do  not  assume  it  to  be  true,  although 
it  is  not  deemed  an  extravagant  assumption  by  several  intel- 
ligent calculators,  that  the  execution  of  this  project  will  cost 
$5,000,000.  We  truly  believe  $3,000,000  by  no  means 
an  extravagant  estimate.  The  interest  on  this  amount,  at  5 
per  cent.,  will  be  $150,000  per  annum.  Fifteen  thousand 
dollars  per  annum  is  a  very  modest  allowance  for  compensa- 
tion and  contingencies.  Here,  then,  is  an  annual  debt,  to 
be  met  by  the  city,  of  $165,000.  Can  any  reflecting  indi- 
vidual, who  duly  weighs  the  facts  which  we  have  stated, — 
that  a  large  number  will,  undoubtedly,  adhere  to  the  existing 
aqueduct ;  and  that  a  large  number  will  use  no  other  water 
than  that  of  their  own  wells  and  cisterns;  and  that  the 
existing  aqueduct  has  been  forty  years  employed  in  gathering 
less  than  1,500  customers, — can  any  reflecting  individual 
believe  that  the  proposed  aqueduct  will  be  able  to  obtain 
5,000  customers  in  the  space  of  ten  years  ?  Such  a  condition 
of  things  would  be  rather  onerous,  as  the  water  tax  would  be 


13 

$33  per  annum  to  each  one,  beside  the  original  cost  and 
occasional  reparation  of  fixtures.  Let  us  presume  that  each 
of  these  5,000  customers  will  pay  the  highest  price  charged 
by  the  existing  aqueduct  to  private  families,  or  $12.  We 
shall  then  have  an  income  of  $60,000,  leaving  an  excess, 
to  be  provided  for  by  the  city,  of  $105,000  per  annum.  If, 
however,  we  calculated  only  upon  the  water  rent,  proposed 
by  the  commissioners,  "  an  average  rent  of  $6  to  each  ten- 
ant," then  we  shall  have  an  income  of  $30,000  per  annum, 
leaving  an  excess  of  annual  debt,  to  be  provided  for  by  the 
city,  of  $135,000. 

It  must  be  apparent,  to  every  thinking  man,  that  this  very 
condition  of  things  will  tend  to  abolish  the  water  tax  entirely, 
and  make  the  water  as  much  the  property  of  every  citizen  as 
the  highway.  The  argument  will,  probably,  not  vary  mate- 
rially from  this: — Our  commissioners  have  led  us  into  a 
prodigious  mistake.  It  is  now  too  late  to  correct  it.  We 
have  laid  out  our  millions,  and  we  have  gotten  "  the  whistle." 
It  is  not  the  profitable  thing  we  had  anticipated.  A  few 
gentlemen  upon  the  highlands  are  very  much  delighted, 
beyond  all  doubt.  To  their  fine  houses  they  have  now  the 
long-coveted  addition  of  pure  and  soft  water  in  abundance. 
They  are  able  and  willing  to  bear  such  portion  of  the  burthen 
as  may  be  assessed  to  them,  not  only  in  the  shape  of  a  water 
rent,  but  their  proportion  of  the  increased  city  tax.  Here  is 
a  vast  superfluity  of  water.  The  profit  we  derive  from  the 
water  rent  is  too  insignificant  to  operate  upon  "our  high- 
minded  citizens,"  as  an  argument  against  making  this  aque- 
duct free.  Away,  then,  with  this  odious  water  tax.  If  the 
city  authorities  demur,  we  will  serve  "a  requisition"  upon 
them,  for  the  use  of  Faneuil  Hall,  and  there,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  one  or  two  idle  bankrupts,  having  no  lawful  employ- 
ment of  their  own,  and  whom,  according  to  the  Spanish 
proverb,  twenty  devils  are  said  to  employ,  we  will  "instruct" 
them,  until  they  perfectly  comprehend  the  duty  of  submission 
to  the  will  of  a  highly  excited  and  multitudinous  assembly. 

Certain  individuals  were  illy  provided  with  water,  in  re- 
spect to  its  quality  or  quantity,  particularly  upon,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of,  Beacon  Hill.  This  comparatively  small  body, 
gave,  as  we  believe,  the  first  impulse.  Adscititious  strength 
has  been  gathered  from  various  sources.  The  rich  have 
called  to  their  assistance  the  clamors  of  the  poor  ;  and  that 
they  might  participate  in  this  hue  and  cry,  with  some  little 
appearance  of  reason,  the  city  authorities  have  suffered  a 


14 

goodly  number  of  excellent  public  wells  and  pumps  to  be 
filled  up  and  abolished.  This  certainly  was  not  so  very 
fatherly  ;  but  the  water  project  was  gathering  strength  from 
year  to  year ;  and  the  abandonment  of  these  public  wells 
contributed  to  increase  the  apparent  necessity  for  this  "  copi- 
ous supply  of  pure  and  soft  water."  It  is  quite  natural,  that 
the  Mayor  of  a  city,  having  one  eye  upon  the  public  weal, 
should  turn  the  other  occasionally  upon  his  own  glory.  One 
gentleman  associates  his  name  with  a  splendid  market-house, 
and  another  would  be  the  founder  of  an  aqueduct.  So  the 
water  project  gathers  its  support  from  the  necessities  of  some 
and  the  ambition  of  others.  In  this  stage  of  the  affair,  an 
eminent  physician,  within  the  high  district,  is  besought  to 
petition  for  water.  The  memorial  is  so  contrived  as  to  ope- 
rate upon  the  sensibilities  and  awaken  the  fears  of  every 
nervous  woman  in  the  city,  who  operates  in  turn,  upon  a 
father,  or  a  brother,  or  a  husbaqd.  Water,  which  has  been 
drunken  with  perfect  satisfaction,  for  many  generations,  and 
to  a  good  old  age,  becomes  suddenly  offensive  to  the  smell  and 
taste,  and  old  ladies  put  on  their  spectacles  and  look  for  eels. 
In  the  mean  time  the  petition  from  the  faculty,  having  been 
signed  by  one  or  two  eminent  physicians,  the  others  follow, 
as  inevitably,  as  wave  follows  wave  upon  the  ocean.  We 
are  all  just  as  familiar  with  this  process,  as  with  that,  where- 
by, when  we  pull  at  the  main  end  of  a  rope  the  residue  of 
the  coil  must  follow.  The  project  becomes  the  town  talk. 
As  a  corroborative  for  the  doctors,  a  trusty  agent  is  employed, 
by  the  city  government,  who  are  by  this  time,  sufficiently 
imbued  with  the  water  mania.  He  goes  forth  to  investigate 
the  character  of  the  wells  in  the  city  ;  not  surely  to  contra- 
dict the  opinions  of  the  faculty!  This  agent  understood  his 
business,  and  he  accomplished  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
employers.  The  practicability  of  the  project  soon  becomes 
so  apparent,  that  a  very  numerous  body  of  artizans,  who 
hope,  in  one  way  and  another,  to  be  employed  in  its  execu- 
tion, join  the  popular  cry  of  "water" — "pure  water" — "a 
copious  supply  of  pure  and  soft  water"  of  whom  many  are 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  real  merits  of  the  question,  and  care 
nothing  for  the  consequences.  Then  follows  the  practice, 
which  is  equally  graceless  in  both  parties,  of  exacting  from 
candidates  for  public  office  specific  pledges  by  the  people, 
for  the  execution  of  particular  measures,  whereby  the  public 
functionary  surrenders  the  exercise  of  his  reasoning  powers, 
and  becomes  a  popular  machine.  Aldermen  and  common 


15 

councilman  are  elected,  not  to  act  according  to  reason  and 
conscience,  but  to  carry  a  point — to  forget  alike  the  dignity  and 
the  impartiality,  which  belong  to  their  station,  and  openly  to 
electioneer,  in  furtherance  of  a  measure,  which  it  is  their 
solemn  duty  to  decide  in  the  most  calm  and  unbiased  manner. 
We  have  already  adverted  to  the  influence  exerted  by  the 
public  journals  of  this  city,  in  promoting  the  execution  of 
this  project.  Those  which  have  not  afforded  their  zealous 
and  even  feverish  co-operation,  appear  to  have  been,  like  the 
imaginary  town  pump,  described  by  the  orator  in  Faneuil 
Hall — chained  up.  Not  satisfied  with  all  ordinary  help,  the 
movers  in  this  matter  have  thought  proper  to  hitch  on  the 
Temperance  cause,  at  the  head  of  their  team.  Now  we 
profess  to  be  friends  of  temperance.  We  are  not,  however, 
so  very  ardent  in  the  cause  as  those  who  have  the  consum- 
mate impudence  to  call  themselves  the  "  ardent  friends  of 
temperance"  and  prate  of  pure  and  soft  water,  while  every 
syllable  they  utter  is  accompanied  with  the  compound  stench 
of  brandy  and  tobacco.  We  are,  in  theory  and  practice, 
friends  of  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  drinks,  and 
desire,  by  all  suitable  means,  to  promote  this  holy  cause  of 
temperance.  Yet,  in  the  most  direct  and  ample  manner,  we 
enter  our  protest  against  this  preposterous  attempt  to  associate 
the  temperance  cause  with  the  pure  and  soft  water  project. 
Let  the  temperance  cause  stand  alone,  upon  its  individual  mer- 
its. Suffer  it,  at  no  time,  to  be  mingled  with  questions  of  sla- 
very or  anti-slavery,  or  municipal  projects,  or  other  extraneous 
matter.  How  little  influence  has  the  quality  of  water,  upon 
the  brandy  drinker's  habits  !  He  may  assign  it  as  an  excuse, 
and  when  the  city  shall  have  removed  this  excuse,  at  the 
cost  of  millions,  he  will  readily  find  another.  The  brandy 
drinker's  arguments  are  drawn,  not  from  the  brain,  but  from 
the  stomach  and  pylorus.  By  recognizing  such  a  pretence, 
as  a  legitimate  apology,  we  authorize  the  tippler  to  tipple  on, 
till  we  find  him  a  copious  supply  of  pure  and  soft  water, 
which,  after  all,  will  be  found  not  so  entirely  to  his  taste,  as 
to  satisfy  his  peculiar  appetite  without  the  alcoholic  corrective. 
The  immorality  of  the  use  and  traffic  is  an  all-sufficient  ar- 
gument. We  shall  do  no  possible  good  and  much  harm  to 
the  cause  of  temperance,  by  permitting  moderate  drinkers  to 
imagine,  for  one  moment,  that  they  are  justifiable  in  their 
attempts  to  improve  bad  water  by  the  addition  of  rank  poison. 
This  exceedingly  foolish  association  of  the  water  project  and 
the  temperance  cause,  is  probably  attributable  to  some  well 


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16 

intending  friends,  who  occasionally  overburthen  us  with  help, 
who  have  not  studied  this  all-important  subject  in  its  various 
relations,  and  whose  zeal  surpasseth  their  knowledge. 

The  fallacy  of  all  vast  estimates  for  great  public  works, 
has  been  proverbial  for  ages.  Two  individuals,  upon  whose 
skill  and  accuracy  great  reliance  was  placed,  were  employed 
to  estimate  the  Croton  works.  They  differed  only  to  the 
extent  of  $  100,000,  a  slight  variation  in  a  matter  of  so  much 
importance  ;  the  estimate  of  one  being  $4,000,000,  and  of 
the  other  $4,100,000.  Yet  these  shrewd  calculators  fell 
below  the  cost  $9,000,000;  $13,000,000  having  been 
expended  on  the  project. 

The  public  are  not  generally  aware  of  the  causes,  which 
have  operated  to  delay  the  completion  of  the  Spot  Pond 
project.  The  Stockholders  are  personally  liable  for  the  debts 
of  the  company  ;  and  the  productiveness  of  the  stock  is,  with 
some,  a  matter  of  doubt.  An  effort  was  made,  at  the  last 
session  of  the  Legislature,  to  remove  this  restriction,  but  in 
vain.  It  is  confidently  believed  by  some  persons,  that,  were 
it  removed,  the  stock  would  be  taken  up,  without  delay. 
This  incumbrance  seems  not,  however,  to  have  influenced 
some  of  our  shrewdest  capitalists,  who  have  already  subscribed 
for  the  stock.  A  little  reflection  has  shown  them,  I  presume, 
that  the  capital  will  not  be  very  liable  to  accident,  after  it 
shall  .have  been  buried,  as  it  speedily  will  be,  under  ground. 
This  is  not  a  manufacturing  nor  trading  corporation.  Its 
capital  is  not  liable  to  frequent  re-investment.  A  vigilant 
committee  will  see  that  the  capital  is  inhumated,  and  it  is  not 
easy  to  perceive  in  what  manner,  even  a  corrupt  board  of 
directors,  can  conjure  it  back  again  for  evil  purposes.  The 
income  will  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  and  be 
secured  to  the  stockholders,  by  virtue  of  his  bonds.  The 
liability  appears  to  me  of  very  little  importance. 

It  has  been  suggested,  that  the  proprietors  of  the  Boston 
aqueduct  have  as  fair  means  for  judging  of  the  profitable 
character  of  this  species  of  property  as  any  persons  whatever. 
The  names  of  several  of  those  proprietors  appear  upon  the 
subscription  paper.  This  fact  also  shows,  that  the  existing 
corporation  is  very  far  from  presenting  any  opposition  to  the 
creation  of  another  ;  unless  to  one,  by  whose  unwieldy  bulk 
it  might  be  annihilated  ;  and  whose  enormous  cost  and  un- 
productiveness would  ultimately  lead  to  making  it  absolutely 
free,  entailing  upon  the  city  an  indebtedness,  which  might 
remain  for  ages.  A  SELFISH  TAX  PAYER. 


